The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations Chapter 848

Episode 848: I have a guess. (4)

Astion pondered the “Delphine Dukedom” for a long time.
“Derkhnein will definitely adopt a son.”
There’s no way he would simply live his life and leave. Hadn’t he asked for the title and territory to secure his heirship?
Adopting a son was inevitable, even to pass on the darkness.
If so, the adopted son would inherit everything Derknein had:
the vast wealth accumulated over the years by the dragons, the magical powers bestowed upon them, though perhaps imperfectly, and even the darkness that lurked in secret.
Building on this legacy, the new Duke of Delphine would instantly rise to power in the kingdom.
“We are, but…”
It was the early days of the continent’s founding, filled with heroes. Everyone was united around Lionel.
Because of this, the current Dukedom of Delphine was a dukedom in name only.
But as time passed, even heroes would eventually die. There was no guarantee their descendants would unite. Indeed, they were more likely to engage in a power struggle.
At that time, the Delphine Dukes, having inherited everything from the Dragons, would have the opportunity to overturn the kingdom.
Of course, as history unfolds, other forces might emerge to check and restrain the Dukes. However, it was too dangerous to rely solely on a possibility that hadn’t even materialized yet.
“The Magic Tower has a mission that must be accomplished. We don’t have the capacity to monitor the Delphine Dukes.”
The Magic Tower of Radiance had things to prepare for a thousand years from now. Therefore, it couldn’t devote itself to its mission of monitoring the Dukes.
Ultimately, another entity was needed to monitor and restrain the Dukes, and protect the royal family.
“It’s a very difficult task. It must be someone who can reliably carry out this task.”
Even if the Delphine Dukes revealed their ambitions, they couldn’t be eliminated. But neither could they be allowed to seize the kingdom.
Until the Salvation Church rose again a thousand years later, the Delphine Dukes would have to live in silence, suppressed.
Therefore, an organization that could threaten their lives and crush their ambitions whenever necessary was needed.
Only one person could come to mind:
“Marika.”
Only she can perfectly carry out this mission in the shadows.
I’m sorry to say this to Kyle, but his personality is simply incapable of such a task. He needs to carry out his mission in secret for generations, and he’ll never be able to establish a system capable of doing so.
He’d be perfectly capable if you just put him somewhere and tell him to fight.
Having made his decision, Astion immediately moved to meet Marika.

* * *

“No.”
Astion scratched his head as Marika flatly refused the moment they met. “You haven’t said anything yet.”
“You came here to give me another job.”
“…That’s true.”
Marika grumbled, glaring at Astion. “
I told you,
you’re a real workaholic. Aren’t you interested in anything else?”
“Anything else?”
“Well…you always said you wanted to date after the war, like it was a habit.”
“Hahaha, that’s true. But I have so much to do that I don’t have time for dating. Oh, if I really put my mind to it, I could meet 5,000 people.”
Marika’s lips twitched at those words. Her expression seemed quite annoyed.
Of course, Astion didn’t quite understand why she was annoyed. He just assumed she was bringing up another job.
Marika shook her head, looking at Astion’s foolishly bright face.
“Aren’t you almost done preparing for the future? What else is there left?”
The founding of the kingdom isn’t the only preparation for the future.
For Giselle, who would fight the darkness again in the future, her friends had prepared much.
Most of the preparations made with the founding of the kingdom were now complete. Astion still had more work to do, but the other friends had completed everything Giselle and Astion had requested.
So Marika assumed Astion had come to ask her to take charge of the kingdom’s affairs as before.
“I don’t care about titles or kingdom affairs. I just want to live in peace now. And I’m sure others will feel uncomfortable with me.”
She was the continent’s greatest assassin. While everyone looked up to her now, her very presence would become terrifying and burdensome over time.
Marika knew this, so she avoided entanglement with others.
She had more than enough money, so she could easily live out the rest of her days in comfort.
Astion shook his head at Marika’s words.
“It’s a similar offer, but a little different. This is truly important. Only you can do it.”
“Only I can do it?”
“Yes, actually, Derknain has an important secret…”
Astion revealed a secret he’d kept hidden. That
the adversary, the previous pope, had planted darkness within Derknain.
He had schemed to rise again, ultimately reincarnating as Ernhard within the Delphine Dukedom.
Therefore, there must be an organization to monitor Derknain and his descendants, who have been tainted by darkness.
Marika, having heard the whole story, bit her lip. She knew how powerful the adversary was. She
couldn’t allow such a man to remain in this kingdom. If anything went wrong, the very foundations of the kingdom they’d built could be shaken.
“…You won’t kill him?”
“Yes, if we kill him now, there’s no telling what the future holds.”
“I understand what you mean. But it’s too dangerous.”
“That’s why I’m entrusting this task to you. I know it’ll be difficult.”
“Ha…”
Marika sighed, placing her hand on her forehead.
She understood Astion’s meaning. She knew that only she could truly carry out this task.
Why had she founded the kingdom and prepared so much? It was to save Yulien and Deneb.
That’s why she couldn’t refuse this request.
Marika, after a moment of hesitation, stood up.
“I guess there’s nothing I can do. I just have to work a little more. Ah, I was going to try to do something I wanted to do.”
“Hey, I had nothing to do anyway. Just decorating the house all day. You know what I mean, right? Hahahaha.”
Marika frowned at Astion’s teasing words.
In fact, Astion was right. After retiring, she had nothing to do, so she just let each day pass by.
On top of that, she kept her identity a secret, so no one except Astion came to visit her.
Still… …There was one dream she truly wanted to fulfill.
A dream that had quietly blossomed within her after a long adventure. A ‘second life.’
A normal, yet warm life with someone.
That’s why she retired without any regrets. She felt that if she continued to work for the kingdom, she wouldn’t be able to live the life she truly desired.
She had been decorating her home in anticipation of her new life, waiting for the future to be fully prepared.
But now that things were this way, she couldn’t let go of the kingdom’s affairs. Saving Yulien and Deneb was just as important.
She had something to say to Astion, but her personality made it impossible for her to speak out. So, for the first time, she let out her annoyance at him.
“Hey.”
“Huh?”
“From now on, you should call me ‘noona’. I’m older than you.”
“……Why all of a sudden?”
“Just call me that. You’re younger than me.”
“……Yes.”
“And even after forming the group, come visit me once a month. Understood?”
“Why is that? We can just meet up sometimes. I’m leaving the kingdom as soon as this is over, right? You know I have a lot to do at the Magic Tower, so why are you doing that?”
In reality, the Magic Tower of Radiance had work to do. Astion was planning to leave the kingdom and live in seclusion for that purpose.
Marika looked dumbfounded at Astion’s words.
“Huh? You’re leaving the difficult work to others and leaving the kingdom alone? Do you have a conscience? I can’t stand that. So come visit me. Come see how things are, and consult with me from time to time. Understood?”
“Um… Understood.”
Astion nodded obediently.
Leaving the difficult work to him and leaving certainly pricked his conscience a little.
With his magical skills, visiting once a month wasn’t difficult, no matter how far away he was.
“If it’s really hard, I’ll skip it sometimes, you know.”
With that peaceful Astion, and Marika, feeling unnecessarily complicated, returned to the kingdom’s capital.
[We began secretly creating a new organization within the kingdom. We gave this organization, which we named the “Shadow Knights,” enormous power. The leader of the Shadow Knights would have royal authority and an independent financial organization. We also gave them the power to intervene in national affairs whenever necessary.]
[Marika devoted herself to nurturing the Shadow Knights. From her original subordinates, the former Assassins, to the most talented individuals selected from the mercenary corps, they were all incorporated into the Shadow Knights. This is how the kingdom’s most powerful military organization was born.] [
However, because it exists in the shadows, it has no support from the nobles. They simply coordinate and watch from behind the scenes. Therefore, only the royal family and a very small number of core leaders are aware of its existence and continue to carry it on. From now on, the royal family and the Shadow Knights will keep each other in check and divide power.]
[The Shadow Knights’ goal is to prevent royal deviance and protect the sacred relics. But a more important mission was to monitor the Delphine Dukes and maintain balance so they wouldn’t rebel, but wouldn’t fall either. Even if
the darkness were to awaken in the middle of the conflict, the Dukes would be unable to do anything until the Salvation Church rose up again and came looking for them. The shadows would always be watching them.]
Astion stayed in the kingdom longer than originally planned to confirm the creation of the Shadow Knights.
But with that work almost over, he was finally able to move on to his next task.
“Lucien, let’s leave now.”
“Yes, Master.”
The two left the Kingdom of Lutania to build the Magic Tower.
In fact, they could build the Magic Tower in the kingdom. However, Astion decided to leave after much deliberation.
As they set off, Astion said to Lucien,
“You’re probably wondering why I’m leaving the kingdom.”
“No.”
“…Hey.”
“Yes, I’m curious.”
Lucien wasn’t really curious. He was crazy about magic, and he didn’t care where he went as long as he could study magic with his master.
Astion, feeling slightly embarrassed, cleared his throat and continued.
“…First, to avoid gaining power. If we, as the kingdom’s meritorious subjects, build the Magic Tower, we will gain immense power.”
“Yes.”
“I don’t suspect you of being crazy about magic. I was simply wary that one of my descendants might become intoxicated with power.”
“Oh, yes. I see.”
Astion’s lips twitched at Lucien’s indifferent words.
He hadn’t been like this when he was young, but as he grew up, his personality had become quite indifferent.
“Second, it must be secretive.”
“Ah, yes. I see.”
“…We must become a hidden sword. A sword whose existence even the darkness, which will one day be resurrected, will not know. That way, the darkness will not even anticipate it.”
If Astion remained in the kingdom, the Delphine Dukes would prepare their forces to deal with the Magic Tower.
No, they could even launch numerous operations to weaken the Magic Tower.
However, if the Duke is unaware of the existence of the Magic Tower, the revived darkness can strike from behind at any time.
Indeed, even in the future, wasn’t the Salvation Church completely caught off guard by the sudden appearance of Jerome?
To counter the darkness, Astion had laid out numerous countermeasures like a spider’s web, spreading them everywhere.
“For those two reasons, we are leaving for a quiet place.”
To focus solely on researching and passing down magic. To do so, we must not be swayed by power or subject to anyone’s restraint.
In fact, even those two reasons ultimately served a single purpose.
Astion muttered with a bitter smile.
“Only then… can I save my friends.”
Yulien’s soul couldn’t be saved even by divine power. Divine power burned away even the souls tainted by darkness.
But if there was a magic that twisted the laws of the world, making the impossible possible, then…
‘I’m sure I can drive out the darkness.’
Now Astion would dedicate his life to finding that method.